


Afternoon Tea

by Chrysanthos



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Character Study, Misplaced Grudges, Projection, Self-Hatred, Technically a Songfic?, Unfounded Hatred, Unrequited Hate, envy - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-23 05:00:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21314581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chrysanthos/pseuds/Chrysanthos
Summary: It started with afternoon tea.Well, perhaps it started before that.Lorenz was a bitch.--An ugly piece about Sylvain, misplaced grudges, and projection.
Relationships: Ferdinand von Aegir & Sylvain Jose Gautier
Comments: 4
Kudos: 42





	Afternoon Tea

It started with afternoon tea.

Well, perhaps it started before that.

Lorenz was a bitch.

Sylvain hated people with fake intentions. Lorenz wanted to marry only to propagate his family line? It was disgusting. Sylvain hated Lorenz.

Sure, he at least _tried_ to be nice to the Gloucester heir (and who could _possibly_ forget the name Lorenz Hellman Gloucester?), but the way he targeted girls like that, with no passion or personal interest, and then wrung them out in a futile attempt to find the "perfect, most noble bride" was disgusting to Sylvain.

Sylvain may have left a veritable mountain of girls in his wake, but at least he tried to be interested.

Until he wasn't.

Back to Lorenz, and his friend, another name no one could forget.

Ferdinand von Aegir.

Sylvain caught Lorenz taking tea with Ferdinand, the two actually holding a civil conversation. Lorenz tittered at Ferdinand's whimsical jokes, and Ferdinand coaxed poetry out of Lorenz.

They were clearly good friends.

No good person could be friends with a _bitch_ like Lorenz.

So, Sylvain, wanting to know who could possibly like anything about Lorenz, began to see what he could find out about Ferdinand.

Son of the Adrestian Empire's prime minister. Previously engaged to Bernadetta von Varley before breaking the engagement for undisclosed reasons. Highly competitive with Edelgard von Hresvelg, the next heiress of the Empire. Professed fan of Manuela Casagranda, and a brilliant operatic tenor at that. Long legs. A beautiful face with soft hair and surprisingly long eyelashes. Surprisingly muscular despite his slim waist. Sharper than ten swords.

Ferdinand could have the whole monastery around his finger if he so chose.

And yet, there instead seemed to be an odd desire to please. A weird need for approval, like some lost puppy. He already _had_ everything, why did he need praise? Anyone would give him praise, even someone like Lorenz.

So it developed into a grudge.

Sylvain still knew nothing about Ferdinand. Sure, he knew everything, but he was the first to admit that, despite all of Ferdinand's traits, Sylvain didn't know about Ferdinand as a person. He never misses afternoon tea, that's one thing. But one's tea schedule meant nothing. After all, Sylvain used to never miss teatime until-

Sylvain shook his head. The past meant nothing. The past was full of bad memories. This was about now.

About Ferdinand.

So Sylvain began to follow Ferdinand.

Ferdinand was a hard worker. He also had expensive taste, in both tea and clothing. He had an infectiously competitive spirit. He believed in the good of nobility, of the value of commonfolk. He believed in the idea of merit and the inherent good in people like Hubert.

<strike>People like Sylvain?</strike>

Even so, Sylvain saw that people interacted with Ferdinand like his girlfriends interacted with Sylvain: distant, with unknown purpose. That's how everyone acted towards Sylvain - he was fairly certain that Felix and Ingrid would have ditched him long ago had they not grown up together.

Ferdinand was also so obsessed with Edelgard that sometimes it made him difficult to approach.

_No wonder he's single. <strike>(Who?)</strike>_

But... Ferdinand was likely a good person? But if he was so good, why was he never rewarded properly? Dorothea hated Ferdinand and never thanked him for anything. Ferdinand seemed to be doing all the heavy lifting in his relationship with Lorenz. Edelgard and Hubert seemed to think him a nuisance more than anything. Bernadetta avoided him at all costs. 

And he still wanted to please them? To... Be their _friend_? He wanted their _approval_? What was up with _that_? Sylvain couldn't figure it out. What made Ferdinand so _wanting_ for attention, yet so selfless? He already had everything.

Sylvain watched Ferdinand take his tea alone. It was raining today. Ferdinand, thinking himself alone, broke his seemingly-unending smile and sighed.

Sylvain couldn't believe him. He wanted to walk up to Ferdinand, shake him, demand why he lived like this or what he even had to complain about. (He already has everything.)

Sure, he was lonely, and forceful, and outrageous, and envious, and he didn't have real friends, and just-

Ferdinand <strike>(Sylvain)</strike> was sick. He was sure of it. No one could be like this without some kind of perversion.

Sylvain still didn't understand anything about Ferdinand.

Ferdinand looked to Sylvain, and his eyes widened. "Ah, Sylvain! Would you care to join me? I apologize if I appear in maudlin mood, but... Well, it is unimportant."

Sylvain wanted Ferdinand to stop talking.

Sylvain took tea with Ferdinand.

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea how this happened. Sylvain has ISSUES, people, and you CANNOT tell me that this "breaks up with girls because he's paranoid about their intentions" bitch wouldn't hate Lorenz for HIS questionable intentions and then hate people who willingly like Lorenz. As awful as it is, I was also inspired by the SLAVE V-V-R song "?" feat. Kizuna Akari.


End file.
